Automatic wire tensioning and tying machine



May 8, 1928.

A. J. GERRARD ET Al.

AUTOMATIC WIRE TENSIONLNG AND TYING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 25, 1920 f/zl/e//fq/"s lec J. Gerrard "4 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Parw'n Wig/bt, y 7% d "-1 l /Zfx Filed June 25, 1920 A J GERRARD ET AL AUTOMATIC WIRE TENSIONING AND TYING MACHINE May 8 May s, 1928.

A. J. GERHARDk ET AL AUTOMATIC WIRE TENSIONING AND TYING MACHINE Filed June 25. 1920 s sheets-sheet 3 4; 4f. ffm/@71ans leceferrard/ Wd Pci/ruin by Paternal May s, 192s.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEC J. GERRARD AND PARVIN WRIGHT, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; SAID WRIGHT ASSIGNOR T0 SAID GERRABD.

AUTOMATIC WIRE. TENSION ING AND TYING. MACHINE.

Application led June 25, 1920. Serial No. 391,678.

This invention relates to automatic wire tensioning and tying machines andl has for its object to provide'a mechanism of this character which will be simple in construction, comparatively inexpensive to manufactureautomatie in action, and more eiiicient in use than those which have been heretofore proposed. i

,With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel parts and combinations of parts constituting the machine, all as will be more fully hereinafter tion of the arrows disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part ot' this specification in which like numerals the v1ews:-

Fignrel isa vertical Ilongitudinal secdesignated like parts in all tional view of a machine made in accordance with this invention, the parts being shown in the tensioning positions;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic sectional plan view` of the machine shown in Fig. l, the parts being shown, however, in the twisting positions Figure 3 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of one side of the rotating cutter mechanism; l

Figure 4 is a. view similar to Figure 3 showing the other side of the said cutter mechanism; Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; j

Figure 6 is' a sectional view taken on the line '6 6 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 1 looking in the direc- Figure 8 is a detail view showing the hook mechanism for holding the wire in place; and

Figure 9 illustrates the knot tied by this machine.

l indicates the base of the frame work, 2 an upright web thereof, and 3 a barrel-like housing rigid withI said web and adapted to accommodate the operating shaft 4 and its associated parts. One end of the shaft 4 is screw threaded as at 6 to receive the foperating handle 5, and the adjustable nut 7 fitting said screw threads, and adapted to control the compression of the spring 8 surrounding said shaft, which spring 8 in turn controls the threaded reciprocating worm sleeve member 9 mounted upon said shaft 4, in a. manner to be more fully disclosed be- OVV.

Also rigid with the base 1 and web 2 is a gear casing or housing 10 accommodating the reciprocating sleeve 11 mounted on the shalt 4, as well as the main driving gear 12 pivoted on the headl of the screw member 14, and also the wire twisting pinion 15 provided with the enlarged hubs 16- and 17 as shown. Of substantially the same shape as is the casing 10, and secured theretoas by the bolts 18 is the end or retaining member 19,' which is rigid with the ,extension or base plate 20, all as will be clear from Figures 1 and 2 of the drawin s.

'lhe said retaining member 19` is ho lowed out as at 21, to accommodate the compression spring 22 and it is also bored to receive the reduced end 23 of the shaft 4, which end is screw threaded as shown, and is provided with the lock nut Y24 to hold the shaft in place.

The said web member 2 is provided with 'a bore hole which receives the headed bolt 25 held in place` by the nut 26; andf between the head 27 of said bolt and said web 2 is disposed the worm wheel 28 as illustrated. Said worm wheel`is provided with the Worm teeth 29 engaging the worm threads 30 with which the reciprocatinvsleeve 9 is provided; and between one end oi7 said Worm' sleeve and one. end of the compressible spring 8 islocated the anti-friction device 31as will be clear from Figure 1. The other end of said worm sleeve 9 is bevelled or cnt away t0 provide the'inclined clutch teeth 33 with which the clutch or driving pin 34 of the shaft 4 is adapted to engage. In like manner the sleeve '11 is provided with the slot 35 which is adapted to enclose driving pin 34 when the worm sleeve 9 is forced to the right, as seen in Figure 1, under the conditions to be hereinafter' disclosed.

Said slot 35 is caused to enclose said driving pin 34 when the sleeve 11 follows the longitudinal movement of the sleeve 9, or is forced to the right as seen in Figure 1 by the sprin 22 under the conditions also to be deseri ed. When'- this occurs, the extended gear teeth 36 with which said sleeve 11 is rovided,'being always in engagement with t e gear teeth 37 with which the main driving gear 12 is provided, the rotation of the shaft 4 and of the driving pin 34, will cause said gf-ar 12 to turn on its bearing 13; and said gear in turn will rotate said twisting pinion 15, all as will be clear from Figures 1 and 5.

40 represents a wire holding post or pin best shown in Figures 3, 4 and 6, which is provided with a narrow slot 41 only wide enough to accommodate the diameters of the two bights 45 and 46 of the Wire, and 43 represents an oscillating sleeve surrounding said wire holding pin 40, and provided with a cutting edge 44 adapted to sever only one bight 45 oi' the wire as'will be clear from Figure 4. rlhe other bight 46 of the wire is accommodated in the transverse slot 47 of the sleeve 43 and thus escapes the severing action. On the side of the sleeve 43 opposite to the cutter 44 as will be clear from Figures 1, 3 and 4, there is provided a transverse slot 49 having an inclined wall 48 which slot is adapted to receive the two bights 45 and 46 of the wire during the cutting action, and at the same time to press together said bights horizontally by means of said inclined wall. The said sleeve 43 as best shown in Figures l and 6 is provided at its rear end with a lever 50, adapted to be pressed in one direction or kept in its normal position by the plunger member 51 controlled by the spring 52 located in the casing 53 as shown.

The housing or casing 10 of the frame is provided with a circular channel 55 concentric with the gear 12, in which revolves the pin or roller member 56 rigid with said gear as best shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The path of said member 56 intersects with the normal position ofthe end of the lever 50 and therefore for each complete rotation or' the main Gear 12 the roller 56 wipes against the end oia lever 50, raises said end against the compression of spring 52, and moves said end entirely out of the channel 55 before passing it. Said roller 56 thus actuates the cutting edge 44, to sever the bight 45 of the wire, while at the same time the unsevered portions of the bights 45 and 46 are by the rotation of the sleeve 43 forced into the transverse slot 49 and against the inclined wall 48 of said slot, which holds the said wires in place during the latter portion ofthe twisting operation. The frame extension 20 is likewise provided with a slotted post 58 in all respects similar tothe slotted post 40, and it may also be provided with the uide or holding pins 59 as shown. Pivotaly secured to said extension 20, as by the bolt 60 is the holding hook 61 provided with the operating handle or extension 62 as shown.

The operation of this machine will be clear Leashes from the foregoing but may be briefly summarized as follows:-

When it is desired to tie a wire under ten sion around a package such as 63, the flat bottom 1 of the frame, is Aplaced on top of said package, an end 64 of the wire is placed in the slotted post 58, and slightly bent as shown in order to secure it in place. The bight 46 of the wire is next passed between the posts or pins 59, through the slots 65 with which the hubs 17 and 16 of the wire twisting pinion 15 are provided, and through the lslot 66 of said pinion 15 which is only wide enough to accommodate the diameters of the bights, and also through the slot 41 of the post 40 all as will be clear from the drawings.

Said bight 46 is next passed around the package 63 and brought back under the hook 61, whereupon it becomes the bigh. 45. It is then passed through the slot of the post 58, between the pins 59,` through the slots 65 and 66, through the slot 41 oi the post 40, and into the groove 67 of the wheel 68 which is rigid with the worm gear 28. The extreme' end 70 of said bight 45, is then passed into one of the slots 71 or into one of the tangentially disposed slots 710, with which said wheel 68 is provided, and bent as shown, to hold it in place, all as will be clear from Figures 1 and 7.

The wire having been thus placed around the box, the operator turns the handle 5 and the operating shaft 4, in a clockwise direction as seen in Figure 5, whereupon the driving pin 34, see Fig. 1, being in engagement with one of the clutch teeth 33 of the sleeve 9, tends to rotate l,said sleeve in the direction of the arrow, Figure 1. Any tendency of the sleeve 9 to slide longitudinally on the shaft 4 is resisted by the compression of the spring 8, and therefore the teeth 30 of the said sleeve 9 will rotate the worm gear 28 in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 1, and thus put a tension ou the bight 45 of the wire. The operator. continuing the turning of the operat ing shaft 4 in the same direction the tension on the wire will continue up to a predetermined point, at which the said tension will overcome the compression of the spring 8. l/Vhen this point is reached the said tension will cause the worm wheel 28 to reverse its motion, moving slightly in a clockwise direction,' as seen in Fig. 1 thereby sliding the worin sleeve 9 to a distance equal to the diameter of the pin 34. 1When this longitudinal movement of sleeve 9 takes place, thedriving pin 34 will leave the hu'inp or notch 330 and slide between the extreme left hand edge of the sleeve 9 and the extreme rlght hand edge 73 of the sleeve 11 until the slotl 35 of the sleeve 11 is reached, whereupon the spring 22 will torce said sleeve 11 toward the right as seen in Figure 1, and

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thus, cause the slot 35 to engage the driving pin 34. c

A continued motion of the shaft 4 1n the same direction will cause the said driving .pin to turn the sleeve 11, its teeth 36, and

the gear-,12 as well as the twisting pinion l15 until 'the roller or pin 56 wipes against the end of lever 50 and moves the cutting edge 44 against the bight 45 and thus severs said bight and relieves the tension on the wheel 28. As soon as the wheel 28 is thus freed from the tension ,of the bight 45, the spring 8, being ot much greater l,strength than is the spring 22, will assert itself; and when the pin 76 carried by the sleeve 11 registers with the slot 75 said spring 8 will cause the left hand end of the sleeve 9 to force the said sleeve 11 toward the left, as seen in Figure 1, against the compression of the spring 22, and thus the slot 35 will disengage the pin 34 yand occupy its position shown in Figure 1. Vhen'this happens the twisting operation -is completed and the operator can idly turn the shaft4 as long ashe likes.

The wire tying operation is now com-y plctedl and it will be seen that it is entirely automatic in every respect. Itwill further be seen that owing to this automatic feature the operation of the'entire machine is very greatly shortened. That is to say, it takes onlya comparatively brief interval of time to encircle a package with the wire in the manner above disclosed, and then the operator can put as much force onto the handle 5 and turn it as rapidly as he likes without stopping, so that the time interval of tensioning the wire and tying its ends together in themanner disclosed'is reduced to the shortest y possible interval.

This is an important feature of the invention, and another important feature resides in 'the construction by which the nut 7 can be screwed up at will to put any desired compression in the spring 8 so that the amount of tension to be put on the bight ,45 before the twisting operation can be readily adjusted. The hub of the handle 5 is readily screwed up against the nut 7 in its adjusted positions and thus said hub acts as a lock nut.

. as the arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention The parts are so timed that the gear 12 tion otl gear means for tensioning the wire;

adjustable mean-s for varying at will the tension to be given the wire; and slidable gear means'engaging with said first named gear means for automatically beginning a wire twisting operation when`a predetermined tension of the wire has' been reached, substantially as described. i

3. In a wire tying machine the combination of means for exerting a tension on the Wire; slidable gear means engaging said first named means for automatically beginning a wire twisting operation when a predetermined tension on t-he wireha's been reached; and automatic oscillating means for severing the wire; substantially as described.

' 4. In a wire tying machine the combination ot' rotating means for exerting a tension on the wire; adjustable means for changing at will the tension to be exerted on said wire; slidable rotatable means for automatically beginning a. wire twisting operation when a predetermined tension on the wire has been reached; and automatic means for severing the wire; substantially as described. s I

5. Ina wire tyingmaehine the combination of means comprising a rotatable member for exerting a tension on the wire; means comprisinga slidable gear for engaging said first named means and for automatically ybeginning a wire twisting operation when a predetermined tension on the wire has been reached; and lautomatic oscillating means for severing the Wire; substantially as described. v

6. In a wire tying machine the combination of rotating means for exerting a tension on the wire; slidable gear means for automatically beginning a wire twisting operatio'n when a predetermined tension on the wire` has been reached; and automatic means y comprising an oscillating cuttin member for severing the wire; substantia 1y as described. A

7. lIn a Wire tying machine thecombination of rotating means for exerting a tension on the wire; a twisting means; slidable gear means engaging said first named means for automatically beginning a wire twisting operation when a predetermined tension on the wire has been reached; automatic means for severing the wire; and a continuously rotating power shaft for supplying power in succession to -said tensioning means, said twisting means and to said severing means.

8. In an automatic wire tensioning and twisting machine the combination of a continuously rotatable shaft; a wire tensioning means operated by said shaft; a sleeve carried by said shaft adapted to be automatically operated after a predetermined tension is exerted on the wire; and means to twist the ends of said wire together operated by said sleeve, substantially as described.

9. In an automatic wire tensioning and twisting machine the combination of a continuously rotatable shaft; a wire tensioning means operated by said shaft; a sleeve carried by said shaft adapted to be automatically operated after a predetermined tension is exerted on the wire; and means comprising a gear and a slotted pinion to twist the ends of said wire together operated by said sleeve; substantially as described.

10. In a wire tying machine the combination of a slotted means for holding two bights of a wire against twisting; a cutting means partially surrounding and coat-,ting with said slotted means to sever one of said bights; a wire twisting means; a wire tensioning means; and an operating shaft having connections for actuating said cutting, tensioning and twisting means.

11. In a wire tying machine the combination of a slotted means for holding two bights of a wire against twisting; a vcutting means movable with respect to said slotted means; a wire twisting means; a wire tensioning means; and a single operating shaft having connections for actuating said cuting, tensioning and twisting means.

12. In a wire tying lnachine the combination of wire twisting, tensioning and cntting means; operating connections between said cutting and twisting means; an operating shaft. for actuating said twisting means and connections; and additional connections including a spring pressed clutch by which said shaft operates said tensioning means.

13. In a wire tying machine the combination of a frame provided with a slotted member for holding two portions of a wire in parallel cont-act; a cutter carried by said frame against a face of said slotted member; a wire tensioning means; 'a gear train including a slotted wire twisting member; operative connections betwen said gear train and said cutter; an operating shaft; operative connections between said shaft and gear train; and additional operative connections between said tensioning means and said shaft. l

14. In a wire tensioning and twisting machine the combination .of a continuously rotatable shaft; a wire tensioning means; a wire twisting means; a wire cutting means; and connections by which said shaft by its continuous rotation actuates said tensioning twisting and cutting means.

15. In an automatic wire tensioning, twisting and cutting machine, the combination of a continuously rotatable operating shaft; a wire tensioning means; a wire twisting means; a wire cutting means; and connections` controlled by the tensioning action of the 'tensioning means by which said shaft may first tension the wire, then twist said wire and then cut said wire in a continuous operation.

16. In a wire tying machine, the combination of means for tensioning a wire; means for twisting together two bights of said wire; means for severing the wire; and a single shaft adapted by its continuous rotation first to operate the said tensioning means, and then to automatically arrest the tensioning means and to operate said twisting and severing means, substantially as ydescribed.

17. In a wire tying machine, the combination of means for tensioning a wire; means for twisting together two bights of said wire; means for severing one of said bights atthe end of the twisting operation; and a single lever adapted by its continuous movement first to operate the tensioning means, and then to automatically arrest the tensioning means and to operate said twisting and severing means, substantially as described.

18. In a wire tying machine, the combination of means for tensioning a wire; means for twisting together two bights of said wire; means for automatically disconnecting power f'rom the tensioning means and applying the same to the twisting means; and a single lever adapted to operate by continuous movement said tensioning, disconnecting and twisting means, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we aix our signatures.

ALEC J. GERRARD. PARVIN VRIGHT.

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